2027: Rhodes-Vivour Challenges Hamzat’s Eligibility Over US Allegiance

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has challenge the eligibility of Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat to contest the 2027 governorship election.

Rhodes-Vivour questioned Hamzat’s eligibility over an alleged oath of allegiance to the United States, reviving an issue that featured prominently in his legal challenge to the outcome of the 2023 Lagos governorship election.

The ADC candidate spoke on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

He said the issue was among the grounds his legal team relied on during the 2023 election petition against Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat.

“We focused on the fact that this current person that wants to contest for governor, deputy governor, swore an oath of allegiance to another country,” Rhodes-Vivour said.

“Constitutionally, that is one of the number one reasons to dismiss a candidate or dismiss somebody that emerges as the governor.”

The fresh comments come as Hamzat’s political profile has risen ahead of the 2027 election.

The Lagos State deputy governor has secured the backing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in the state.

The party’s Governance Advisory Council endorsed him as its consensus candidate in April 2026, while President Bola Tinubu subsequently endorsed his candidacy.

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour

Rhodes-Vivour, however, is again drawing attention to the citizenship and allegiance question that was litigated during the 2023 election dispute.

The controversy dates back to proceedings before the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

In June 2023, Olubusayo Fasidi, an immigration lawyer based in the United States, appeared before the tribunal after being subpoenaed as a witness.

Fasidi testified that Hamzat had applied for US naturalisation and allegedly took an oath of allegiance in the United States.

The documents referenced during the proceedings included US naturalisation forms identified as Form N-400 and Form 8 CFR/337.

The testimony formed part of Rhodes-Vivour’s argument that Hamzat was not qualified to stand as the deputy governorship candidate of the APC in the 2023 election.

The matter was strongly disputed by Hamzat’s camp.

His media office rejected the allegation that he had renounced his Nigerian citizenship.

It argued that the documents tendered by the witness were blank forms downloaded from the US Embassy website and that the witness did not produce documents showing the actual date or jurisdiction in which Hamzat allegedly applied for naturalisation or took the oath.

Hamzat’s lawyers also challenged the evidence presented by the petitioner during the tribunal proceedings.

The legal dispute centred partly on the interpretation of Nigeria’s constitutional provisions on citizenship and allegiance.

Section 182 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, provides that a person is not qualified for election as governor if, subject to Section 28, the person has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of another country or, except where the National Assembly provides otherwise, has made a declaration of allegiance to another country.

The Constitution also extends provisions relating to the qualification and disqualification of a governor to the deputy governor under Section 187.

That provision was part of the legal argument raised during the 2023 election petition over Hamzat’s eligibility.

The controversy did not end with the testimony of the immigration lawyer.

In July 2023, Hamzat’s legal team tendered documents before the tribunal, including his Nigerian and American passports and his oath declaration form.

The documents were presented as part of the defence against the allegation that he had lost his qualification to contest.

The respondents also argued in their final written address that the evidence presented by Rhodes-Vivour was insufficient to establish the allegation against Hamzat.

They questioned the basis on which the immigration lawyer was presented as an expert and challenged the conclusions drawn from her testimony.

The Lagos election petition tribunal eventually dismissed Rhodes-Vivour’s petition challenging Sanwo-Olu’s victory in September 2023.

The petition had also challenged Hamzat’s eligibility on the citizenship and alleged US allegiance issue.

Despite the outcome of that case, Rhodes-Vivour has now brought the issue back into public discussion as the 2027 election approaches.

The ADC candidate also criticised the conduct of the 2023 election, alleging that violence and intimidation occurred in parts of Lagos during the poll.

He argued that the controversy over allegiance should be properly addressed before the next governorship election.

Rhodes-Vivour said Nigerians should elect public officials whose loyalty is to Nigeria.

He also maintained that Hamzat could have publicly renounced any alleged allegiance to the United States before seeking elective office.

He referenced former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson while making the argument, suggesting that politicians with foreign citizenship or allegiance should clarify their status before seeking public office.

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